Steak Teriyaki with Pickled Pear

Teriyaki Sauce

• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon grated orange
• 1/8 teaspoon sriracha
• 1 - 2 grinds of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water

1. Put all the ingredients except the cornstarch and cold water in a small pot and bring to a boil.
2. Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water. Reduce the soy mixture to a simmer and add the cornstarch water all at once. Start whisking and keep the mixture to a soft simmer. You'll see it thicken almost immediately. Adjust for flavors if necessary and set aside.

Steak and Pear Filling

• 1 1/2 pounds rib eye steak
• 3 tablespoons pear vinegar (cider vinegar can be substituted, but try to use pear vinegar)
• 2 tablespoon mirin
• pinch salt
• 2 Asian pears
• 1 bunch scallions (around 8-10 small and medium sized)
• 2 bunches bok choy or 1 head Bibb lettuce

1. Lightly salt the steaks and let them come to room temperature.
2. Make the pickling juice by combining the pear vinegar, mirin and a pinch of salt in a small shallow bowl. Peel the pears, seed them and slice into thin "french fries". Pop them into the bowl with the pickling juice for 30 minutes. You can use them with that shape, or chop them up into large diced pieces when you get ready to assemble.
3. Heat up 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a sautè pan. Remove any moistness on the surface of the steaks with a paper towel and sautè them to desired doneness. I cooked mine medium-rare. The amount of time is going to vary depending on the thickness of the meat, the type of sautè pan, and amount of fat in the cut of meat - but I sautèed mine for 3 - 4 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and let site for 15 minutes.
4. Slice the tops off the scallions off so that you're left with the bulb and about 3 inches of green stalk. Carefully slice off the roots and toss the scallions into the pan you used to sautè the beef. On medium - high heat, sear the green onions both sides and reduce the heat to medium - low to continue to cook until the scallions are soft (about 10 minutes). Remove and slice up, if desired.
5. Slice the meat against (across) the grain into strips. If you want, cut them again into small bit-sized pieces. Throw the meat into the pan with the slightly cooled teriyaki sauce and toss to thoroughly coat.
6. Lay out the lettuce leaves. Spoon some of the beef into the center of each one, topped with the chopped scallions. Finish the assembly with the pickled pears. To eat, simply pick up the lettuce cups, place in your palm while folding over the sides with your fingers (think eating a hot dog).
7. If you go the direction of the bok choy leaves, they will not accommodate much filling in each leaf, so you'll need to make at least twice as many. Remove a leaf from the bulb and perform the same assembly as described in the above step. Carefully fold the sides of the leaf over each other and tie together with part of a discarded scallion stalk top. To eat, I hold the part of the leaf the attaches to the bulb, which is pretty sturdy, with my other hand holding the meat filled part, and chomp away at it.
8. Have plenty of Sapporo beer at hand to wash these down with!